Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/09/26

The Boston Celtics are looking to lock up the Eastern Conference’s #2 seed as they prepare to visit the New York Knicks inside Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Boston holds a 3-game lead over third-place New York, but the Knicks would own the head-to-head tiebreaker with a victory in this matchup — so both teams should still be playing hard. Exactly who will be on the floor for the Celtics, however, remains to be seen. They are starting a back-to-back situation that continues on Friday against New Orleans, so several guys may sit out at least 1 of the legs. As a result, 4 of Boston’s 5 starters (Jayson Tatum being the only exception) are currently listed as questionable for Thursday. Therefore the C’s are too risky for me to back; my Celtics vs Knicks prediction is for the home team to win and cover.

There is no denying that the Celtics are hot at the right time, owners of a 4-game winning streak and 11 victories in their last 13 contests. Of course, that means they pretty much know they are going to win at least 1 of their last 3 games regardless of Thursday’s result. If they rest their guys on Thursday, an absolute blowout of New Orleans on Friday is almost certainly in the cards. Meanwhile, New York has followed up a 3-game losing streak with a current 3-game winning streak. The Knicks do not want to throw away this momentum with the playoffs approaching — especially not in front of the home crowd. I would avoid making a play until the status of Boston’s lineup is confirmed, but right now New York looks like the better choice.

Celtics vs Knicks prediction: Under 8.5 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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